The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market will switch to a Monday-to-Friday trading week in line with the federal government's move to change the weekend.
The stock exchanges will operate from 10am to 3pm from Monday to Friday from 3rd January 2022, the two bourses said on Wednesday.
“The Monday-to-Friday trading window aligns with local and international financial institutions and further contributes to the DFM’s recent momentum by expanding the presence of international participants on the DFM, as they currently contribute 50 per cent of the market’s trading activities and represent one third of the investor base,” the Dubai bourse said.
The move by the stock exchanges come at a time when UAE's federal government departments are preparing to shift to a four-and-a-half day working week, with the official weekend now being Saturday and Sunday, instead of Friday and Saturday.
The step will also could result in greater integration of the local economy with global markets, paving way for more foreign direct investment, according to analysts.
The move will create a "great alignment between the UAE's securities markets and world markets", Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday.
The banking and financial sector will also benefit because the UAE is eliminating the previously existing weekend gap to align with world economies, he said.
For the full article click here